Dallas Pro Sports

It’s a tough sell at this exact moment. Dallas just pulled off an upset by defeating the Magic in Orlando. Back to back impressive road wins does NOT put anyone in the mood to trade.

105.3FM The Fan, a local Dallas area sports radio station, referenced yesterday’s Baron Davis article this afternoon, mentioning my comparison of Baron Davis and Terrell Owens. It’s a logical comparison. Both are divas. Both get PAID. Both perform best when they’re happy with their surroundings. Both are potential team chemistry wreckers. Both get more attention than they deserve. Both have failed to consistently live up to their potential, year to year to year. Can Baron fit in with the Mavericks? Or would he be the Mavericks’ own personal T.O.?

Now that you’re less interested in Davis, let’s go ahead and take a look at three trade scenarios being mentioned by the “experts.”

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Mentioned by ESPN.com as an available point guard before the trade deadline, Baron Davis would make an immediate impact on a Mavericks team desperate for a third scoring threat.

Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry are carrying the team in points, with Jason Kidd contributing a decent number some of the time. But the Kidd trade was a flop if for no other reason than it gave away more draft picks for a an aging star. And while everyone in Dalls is clamoring for a star two guard, Baron Davis is someone who would make the two guard irrelevant.

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Jerry Stackhouse is reportedly talking to his agent about “exploring options” – either getting traded or bought out by the Mavericks. He’s not happy with his inactive status, and says he has too much good basketball left in him. In other words, the Mavericks coaching staff doesn’t know what they’re doing, and they’ve made a mistake by sidelining someone of his talent and ability.

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While I did not expect Artest to become a Maverick, it was because I thought he might actually stick it out in Sacramento. But tonight’s headlines tell us that Ron Artest will be headed to Houston in a trade for Bobby Jackson and probably Donte Greene.

Another opportunity bites the dust. How did Mark Cuban and Donnie Nelson manage to spend so much energy and money getting Jason Kidd to Dallas and fail so miserably to shop Josh Howard? It can’t be THAT hard to trade him. He’s still pretty talented.

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Some of you have pointed out to me that NBA.com says San Antonio picked up Gerald Green. This is why you have editorial control over your website. Someone needs to review this data and ensure its accuracy. While you would expect NBA.com to be the leader in accurate NBA reporting, human error is inevitable.

To allay your concerns, all other reports including quotes from Dallas Mavericks front office indicate that Gerald Green is a Dallas Maverick. Don’t worry about San Antonio. They have a good chance of picking up Corety Magette. Gerald Green isn’t even on their radar.

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With everything that we as fans have been hearing and seeing in the media, blogs, and rumor sites it’s hard to get a clear grasp of what the 2008-2009 Mavericks will look like. This is what we know Gerald Green is a Maverick or is he???? Diop is going to be signed with the MLE or is he???

There is speculation that Dallas and New Jersey will try to work out a sign and trade apparently this benefits both teams…why you ask? Well Diop has already made it clear he wants to be in Dallas sign and trade benefits new jersey because they will get something back and it benefits the Mavericks because they wouldn’t have to use the MLE on Diop instead they could use it to sign a free agent….Maggette and Posey seem to be high on the Mavericks wish list…will this happen I will be thoroughly surprised if either of those guys sign with Dallas..Posey will stay put with the Celtics and Maggette is going to sign with the Spurs but that’s just my gut.

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ESPN announced early this afternoon that the trade for Jason Kidd has been approved. Kidd will suit up for the Mavericks Wednesday night for his first game.

Are you ecstatic, depressed, or indifferent? I’ll be covering several angles over the next week or so. For now, it’s enough to know that Jason Kidd is back at the helm in Big D.

Say your goodbyes to Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, and future first round draft picks which would keep this team alive 5 years from now.

This leaves me to ask 2 questions:

1. Is Devin going to pull a Steve Nash and use this lack of appreciation and credit to motivate him to MVP/All-Star status?

2. Does this mean I have to design a new MavsUpdate banner ?

I’m thinkin’ yes and yes.

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The Dallas Cowboys are playing excellent football right now. This is why nobody is really noticing how bad the Mavericks are doing right now. The Mavericks are 17 – 9 right now. More than half of those losses have came from Eastern Conference teams. I don’t know what is more embarrassing the video of Devon Harris dancing to Rod Stewart’s “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?” or losing to an Eastern Conference team. I hope the reason for the inconsistent play of late has to due with us adding a couple of new pieces in Eddie Jones and Brandon Bass. Hopefully we start to get into a rhythm and start rolling like a gravy train with biscuit wheels into the All-Star break.

The Mavericks barely pulled out another win against an average Orlando Magic team. The Magic turned the game into a nail biter at the last few moments with the final score being 111 – 108. One thing that has been a constant knack on the Mavericks is their ability to lose a lead. No matter how much we are on up on the other team they always seem to come back. One good thing I can say about tonight’s game is I think we saw the return of the Dirkanator. The game was close at the end and Dirk Nowitzki hit the big shots that needed to be made finishing with 31 points. This game should help bring his confidence back up and hopefully even out his inconsistent play of late. We are talking about the MVP of the league. This type of play is expected every night. Was I the only person that noticed the announcer’s “hot mic” when Jameer Nelson was shooting his free throws with seven seconds left in the game?

Whoever started the Jason Kidd rumors need to be slapped by Kidd right after he slaps his wife. The price for the albino Ike Turner would be Josh Howard and possibly Devon Harris. Lets think about that for a second, Jason Kidd was drafted by the Mavericks when Josh Howard was 13 years old. Josh Howard has just started into becoming what looks like a great player. I don’t even think this guy has shown a flash of the brilliance he is capable of. I would be open to trading Devon Harris and Jerry Stackhouse for Kidd. That is the only remote scenario that could land Kidd back in Dallas. If Howard goes it could end up being one of the big mistakes like Portland drafting Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. I know what your thinking, who is Sam Bowie? I don’t know either.

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The Dallas Mavericks are not going to pursue Mr. Selfish/Team Destroyer Kobe Bryant.
Is it an issue of talent? Yes it is. The Mavs would have to give up way too much and it’s a catch 22. Why? It’s the perfect contract situation for Kobe – there is a no trade clause. In other words, Kobe can shoot down any deal, so if Lakers management has a deal in place where the Lakers actually get some talent back, Kobe’s going to shoot it down because he would be going to a team that just lost all their talent just to get him. So the Lakers are going to have to budge and take less talent or Kobe’s going to have to budge and basically accept the same situation he has now on a different team.

Fact is, most players that have played with Kobe imply that he was no good in the locker room and not a very good teammate. Probably similar to the rich kid who got everything and got away with everything in junior high.

Fact: Kobe is un-coachable according to one of the best player-friendly coaches, Phil Jackson.

Fact: Kobe can not coexist with another all-star player. Ask Shaq Daddy who was run out of town and formed a pretty good relationship with Dwayne Wade in Miami.

Fact: Kobe takes most of his team’s shots, is not a team player, and does not make any of his teammates better. He actually hinders their growth.

Fact: Kobe is not Michael Jordan. Why? Jordan made his teammates better. Jordan played with heart and passion! Which does not filter through Kobe’s game.

Kobe is a talented player. But as a Mavs fan, I have to ask myself why do this deal?

Unless the deal is Mo Ager , Jose Barea , and Nick Fazekas for Kobe, stay away from it! It is to risky and Kobe is high maintenance.

I did state before that I wouldn’t be to disappointed if the deal was Josh Howard and Jason Terry for Kobe, but if you really look at the deal that way, you’re getting the same if not more production by keeping Howard and Terry. They are good guys, good teammates and good for the community here in Dallas.

But the Lakers want Diop too, which would cause Dallas to sacrifice even more production ….. for what? To fill the seats? So Kobe can score 50 and the Mavs still lose …. So he can send Dirk packing to Phoenix to help them win a title…

The Mavs roster looks as good as it ever has. It’s deep with veterans and young talent. We have some new pieces to our coaching staff. This could be the year, but if it’s not the year, it’s not necessarily player personnel …. But we will see. I hope Kobe ends up in New York with Isaiah…they can relate.

But THANK YOU Mark Cuban for not bringing him here.

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Listening to 103.3FM ESPN this morning, the ESPN SportsCenter update tells us that Mark Cuban has officially said that the Mavericks will NOT be pursuing Kobe Bryant any further. According to ESPN, Cuban said “The price is too high.” One can only assume that Cuban’s referring to the number and quality of players the Mavericks would have to part with in order to gain the superstar.

Sadly, this means that no national media attention will be focused on the Mavericks until the end of regular season play. Yet another disappointment, after the Dallas Cowboys lost to New England a few weeks ago and thus the national hype over the team died down to a dull murmur.

In a normal year, I would be satisfied with the Mavs’ stellar talent and offseason acquisitions (Juwan Howard, Eddie Jones, Brandon Bass, etc). But this year is unique in that Kobe Bryant, the famous and infamous, wants out of Los Angeles. Any other year, I’d be satisfied with what we have. But the grass is ALWAYS greener, and Kobe looks pretty good to a team that folded in the playoffs two years in a row.

Could Mark Cuban’s statement be a ploy to see how Jerry Buss might adjust his demands? Anything’s possible. But likely? Not even close. The Mavs do like the team they’ve assembled, and they’d have to get a good deal on Kobe to switch it up during the season.

So grieve the loss if you must, as I will, and get ready to watch the season with as much enthusiasm as you can muster. On the bright side of things, the Mavs do look stronger than they have the last two season openers. This is a team with a deep bench, and some serious improvements are expected from Devin Harris, Josh Howard, and Gana Diop.

Take your time dealing with disappointment. Kobe would have been fun. Someone should write a song about the trade falling through and send it in to Randy (Galloway on ESPN radio). He does love him some sports ballad!

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God, I hope not! That would mean we’d have to change the banner image of our site!

Hmm… maybe I could survive the tragedy. In the meantime, let’s discuss why you’re wrong and I’m right. You’re wrong because you think the Kobe trade will NEVER happen. I’m right because I’ve always thought it’s very possible, and that the end result will depend on something relatively small.

Let’s take a look at MVN’s Showboating blog. According to Matt Carter, it could be a done deal on the Lakers’ side and merely an issue of getting Dallas to comply.

Here’s what Matt wrote a few days ago:

An unidentified source within the organization tells me that Dallas is in communication with Mitch Kupchak and Jerry Buss over the future of Kobe, but it is actually Dallas, and not LA, that is keeping a deal from going down. Supposedly Los Angeles wants a package including Josh Howard, Jason Terry, draft picks, and filler for Bryant, and Dallas is unwilling to part with certain pieces of the team. It may ultimately boil down to who exactly makes up the “filler” in the trade–as in whether we’re talking about DeSagana Diop or Nick Fazekas.

Kobe sat for a week during pre-season due to tendinitis in his knees. Everyone made a big deal about him cleaning out his locker, which was a bit presumptuous on the media’s part. All indications from the Los Angeles media is that a trade is much more likely to occur AFTER this season, which would be reasonable and understandable, but sorely disappointing to me, a Dallas sports fan desperately wanting a Cowboys’ or Mavericks’ team worth cheering for.

Mark Cuban recently told the press that trading Dirk isn’t an option. Dirk is untouchable. So the potential for a Josh Howard / Jason Terry / etc trade for Kobe Bryant is obviously the only option possible. If Matt’s sources are correct, I applaud the Mavericks for caring about the particulars of such a trade. Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki, and Devin Harris make a pretty ridiculous combo, but I think Dallas desperately needs to keep a player like Diop for presence in the paint. Brandon Bass could be a quality starter within the next year or two, allowing for the option of Dirk at center or small forward. Let’s look at the roster possibilities for the Mavs next year:

Devin Harris /JJ Barea
Kobe Bryant / Eddie Jones / Devean George
Jerry Stackhouse / Trenton Hassell
Dirk Nowitzki / Brandon Bass
Erick Dampier / DeSagana Diop

Not a bad little lineup, assuming Dallas keeps Diop and parts with Fazekas (still not sure why they didn’t pick Big Baby – mark my words, he’ll be better than Fazekas by far).

So it may be complete speculation, but the Mavs would have a killer lineup. Stackhouse, Jones, George, and Bass could all start in that 3 position, giving Dallas an excellent set of options. It’s lights out if this trade gets done. Knowing our luck, and by “our” I mean “my”, nothing will happen and we’ll enter this and next season in much the same fashion as we appear now.

It isn’t the end of the world. It just isn’t terribly exciting either.

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There is a lot of speculation that James Posey, PJ Brown, and Chris Webber are all possible candidates to be role players for the Dallas Mavericks. Although I don’t agree with the thought process, as a Mavericks fan, there is nothing else to do except hope for the best.

It’s obvious the Mavs are ripping a couple of pages out of the Spurs, Lakers , and Heat off season strategy – surround the core with some experienced playoff-proven players and hope they gel as a team. I still believe the way to go is to get a big two guard who can get 12-16 points a game, a couple of steals and boards, and make some hustle plays.

The guys that are available aren’t really Mavs material. In other words, too thuggish for the vision Avery is trying to instill into his players on and off the court. Probably the biggest factor why you will not see Ron Artest or Ruben Patterson in a Mavs uniform. This fad in signing ex-allstars to be bench players has not necessarily proven to be a successful strategy.

For example, Chris Webber and Michael Finley – both considered NBA top 20 players once upon a time. Both were all-stars in their own right. Both were the center of their offenses. This worked for Finley who signed with the Spurs a couple of years ago for the mid level exception, but did not work for Webber who signed with the Pistons last year for the veterans minimum.

Obviously, its not about the money for these guys. They make the decision for a chance at the title. The whole idea to me seems cheap and underhanded. Luckily, this is all a gamble for these NBA vets. It’s hit or miss. Ask Karl Malone.

The Mavericks coaching and management vision is clouded by the hype of thinking that signing the old all-stars will put them over the hump. This is the solution the Spurs did – it must work. Miami also did it. They must know what they are doing.

Primarily, it worked for them because their core is better than the core of the Mavericks. Take San Antonio: Duncan vs Nowitzki – Harris vs Parker – Howard vs Ginobli. Fundamentally, the Spurs would be better in at least 2 of the three positions; So, yeah, add some vets. It does work for the Spurs. I just don’t think it works effectively for the Mavs.

Across the board, the Mavs are better than most teams in the NBA. It is those five or six teams that on any given night or any given playoff series could be lights out for the Mavs because they camouflage the Mavs roster with a big name free agent who used to be all-star instead of addressing the problem with a younger, more permanent solution.

Although Donnie Nelson is the President of basketball operations, the decisions for player personnel is ultimately Avery’s. If he keeps operating in this manner, it will lead to his coaching demise. If they win a lot of games and get bounced again in the first round, Mark Cuban won’t be happy and Avery will be in the hot seat. These are the teams the Mavs will have trouble with this upcoming season.

San Antonio – coaching experience – Spurs point guard play is better. Duncan and Nowitzki – really depends on the night but I think Duncan still has the upper hand. Howard has to play well these games.
Phoenix – The Suns play at the pace they want which is fast – better point guard play. So if they are hot, look out! Their downfall is defense and bench depth.
Miami – coaching – Shooting guard production is drastically better on both sides of the ball than the Mavs. Center play – if they are healthy they will be a problem for the Mavs.
Boston – Shooting guard play will be better than the Mavs. Small forward will be more offensively productive than the Mavs. Garnett will probably be better than Dirk on his new team, but a good matchup.
Houston - Shooting guard play will be better than the Mavs if it’s Bonzi Wells, T-Mac or Bob Sura. They are deep at the point w/ Steve Francis, Mike James and Rafer Alston. Shane Batier is solid on both sides of the ball, and you will get better offensive center production with the Rockets.
Denver – They have a year and training camp to gel. They can match up well with the Mavs. They could be a dangerous team for the Mavs with AI, Melo, and K-mart.

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